Every stage of life, big or small, seems to fly by once you’re at the end looking back. This year, however, flashed before my eyes, and the startling realization that I am already halfway finished with college has furnished an invaluable flash of insight.
The reason every day felt like an hour this year was that I only had time to pause and take stock of the world around me for about that much time.
When each 18-hour day is packed with classes, meetings and homework, one doesn’t exactly stop to smell this campus’ perfectly-pruned roses, lilacs and pansies that lend it the beauty we take for granted.
By no means am I lamenting my busy schedule — it’s full of things I chose and love. There’s something truly exhilarating about living life at breakneck speed.
But planned doesn’t necessarily mean purposeful, and if I were to identify a single epiphany this year has given me, it’s this: overscheduling doesn’t give life purpose. Fulfillment cannot be gauged by the number of appointments in your planner or lines on your resume.
Before this year, I misinterpreted the adage, “It’s not the years in your life, it’s the life in your years.” For me and so many of my peers, “life in your years” translated to “events in your day.” We are a generation replete with ambition and competitiveness — both productive qualities in moderation — but we have forgotten how to say “no.” Or, more likely, we have never learned.
It is harder to be accepted to college now than any other time in our country’s history, and the rapidly inflating price of higher education puts additional pressure on us.
This pressure begins in high school, often earlier, and pushes us to overachieve not only for admission but also for a scholarship to make that degree possible. We’re taught from a young age how to join as many extracurriculars as we can handle to appear enriched and well-rounded on paper. And, in many cases, heavy involvement accomplishes just that, but only if structured mindfully with a big dose of discernment and ?self-awareness.
As someone with a long list of passions, it’s impossible to turn down a chance to experience something new or contribute to the fields I adore.
But being a serial overcommitter, I’ve realized, hasn’t made me a better student or person; I contribute a tiny bit to a million things rather than becoming utterly immersed in a handful of things that truly have my heart.
While sitting in an end-of-year celebration in the religious studies department last week, I was awed by the incredible things my classmates have discovered and accomplished.
Suddenly, I saw my future self turning down these same opportunities for lack of time. In that moment, my true priorities were thrown into sharp relief. The next morning, I dropped a minor and resolved not to rejoin a few organizations in the fall. I needed to pencil in time to be consumed by what I love.
This problem is a great one: we’re privileged with hundreds of life-changing opportunities so compelling we can’t choose between them. But thankfully, I’ve come to articulate for myself that I’d rather spend hours pouring over material that fills me up, giving it the time and attention it deserves, than have my energy depleted for the sake of a couple extra lines on ?my resume.
So here’s my humble slice of wisdom: no matter what “life in your years” may look like for you, be purposeful with each moment before they slip away.
sbkissel@indiana.edu
